FSC 114
|debut = None|return = |withdraw = |pre = FSC #113|nex = FSC #115}} For the second time, we are hosted in Ukraine; this time in the city of Dnipro, following the victory of Ukraine in FSC 113 with The Hardkiss performing 'Melodiya'. This is also the second time that Ukraine has won with a song performed by The Hardkiss. The number of participants increases to 38, the highest number since FSC 61 in March 2014, due to the return of Cyprus and Mexico, while the only withdrawing country is Australia. Germany with Alvaro Soler performing 'La Cintura' is eventually crowned as the winner, having a large lead of 32 points over second-placed Hungary, while Malaysia reaches third place, the first time this country has obtained a top-3 placing. The Host City The host city for the FSC #114-edition is Dnipro, Ukraine. Known before as Dnipropetrovsk, Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth largest city, with close to one million inhabitants. It is 391 kms southeast of the capital city of Kiev on the Dnipro (Dnieper) River, in the south-central part of Ukraine . Dnipro is the administrative centre, of Dnipropetrovsk province. It is a powerhouse of Ukraine's business and politics, as the native city for many of the country's most important figures. The city's a major industrial centre of Ukraine and has several facilities devoted to heavy industry in its many forms. In the past it was one of the key centres of the nuclear, arms and space industries of the Soviet Union & home to the famous Yuzhmash, a major space & ballistic missile manufacturer. The city and nation itself then in the 20th century went through years, as part of the Soviet Union, and the city became a ‘closed city’ for decades, for military reasons and aerospace manufacture and was known as the ‘ rocket city ’. Only during Perestroika, was Dnipropetrovsk opened to foreigners again , in 1987. Dnipro is today a major educational centre in Ukraine and is home to two of Ukraine's top-ten universities. Currently around 55.000 students study in Dnipro. Culturally, Dnipro has a variety of theatres (plus an Opera), & museums of interest to tourists . The central thoroughfare is the Akademik Yavornitskyi Prospekt and the Ekaterinoslavskiy Boulevard, with many boutiques and restaurants. The Venue The host venue for FSC #114 August 2018 is the Dnipro-Arena. It is a football stadium in the city, that is mostly used for football matches and hosts the homes matches of FC Dnipro. The stadium, which was opened in September 2008 and is owned by PrivatBank, the largest commercial bank in Ukraine, has a capacity of ca 31.000 people. The Dnipro-Arena also staged the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Ukraine and England. It sometimes hosts other events as well, including big music concerts and similar large cultural events. It is proud to be the Ukrainian host venue , of this FSC August-edition, of the Forum Song Contest this evening. The Hosts Solomiya Vyatcheslavivna Vitvitska is a Ukrainian TV-presenter, journalist, leading "TSN.Special" on channel 1+1 since 2008. She graduated from the Faculty of Journalism, at the Lviv Ivan Franko University. She also studied several years in Germany. In 2005 she returned to Ukraine and started work as a reporter on Channel 5. Since 2011, there has been a ‘daily tabloid’ on the air “TSN Special”, a program that has secular news only, reports on cultural events, exclusive details on the life of celebrities and similar. She has also done some voice-over work for animated film. In 2013 she married a film-director. In 2016 she received an award/prize, as “Woman of the 3rd Millenium”. Serhiy Prytula is a Ukrainian TV-presenter, actor, author, and co-producer of the folk sketch show "Faina Yukraina" (English "Great Ukraine"), host of the morning show "Pidyom" (English: "Wake up!") and the talent-show "Ukraine Does not Believe in Tears" on Novyi Kanal, a Ukrainian tv-channel. In 1998 , Serhiy passed casting for the position of a broadcaster, and in January 1999 he appeared on "Radio Ternopil 106.1 FM", nicknamed "Siryi" - "Grey". He then studied and lived in London a while. After returning home 2006-2009, he was a resident of "Comedy Club" (Russian stand-up comedy TV ) and also in Ukraine. He has also been involved in Ukrainian ESC National Finals as a presenter and commentator. The Show The Results The Winner Alvaro Soler - La Cintura: